Amanda Grace brings Seattleites the news five nights a week, but off the set she tells stories by creating beautiful spaces.
"Part of it is just being a visual person, which is also part of working in television,” she said. “You kind of develop an eye."
Interior design became her passion a decade ago. She and her husband Greg were newlyweds on a tight budget, but their first home in New England needed work.
"Packing tape was holding the windows together, it had giant cracks. The staircase was held together with one giant 2x4,” she said. "It had no heat. In Boston."
By the time she was finished, the historic brownstone was unrecognizable – modernized and stylish, thanks in part to thrift store finds and refurbished antiques.
"It was a dramatic before and after, and I think that's sort of what gets you, right?” Grace said. “That's why people love HGTV, that's what hooks you. And I think that's addictive."
The next project was her firstborn's nursery, an 8x8 space maximized with bright colors, frames from a flea market and an expensive-looking campaign chest Grace found for a steal.
"Craigslist. 40 bucks. Craigslist!" she said.
After moving home to the Pacific Northwest, she embarked on her most recent transformation - a 1929 Tudor in Magnolia.
She styled the interior to look modern chic, with meaningful re-use.
"We really raided grandma's attic to make this house come to life,” she said. "(Pieces) that had family history and sentimental value to us, and we made them our own."
Twin beds and a matching end table in the guest room came from Greg’s grandparent’s home on Vashon Island. So did the living room centerpiece.
“It was grandma's card table. It's burlwood, 1970's,” Grace said. “We actually cut the legs down to make it a super low coffee table."
Remodeling also made a huge difference. She opened up the kitchen to make it her dream space, and switched the beige and brown walls, tiles and toilet in the upstairs bathroom to a white, bright and airy spa-like vibe.
Every room is creatively picture-perfect. But it’s also designed for real life.
"Every choice that we made this house was, ‘can I spill on it?’" she said, laughing.
The upholstery is all indoor/outdoor fabric, and there’s plenty of storage for hiding clutter.
She hopes her children will see the home as a foundation for building lifelong memories.
"I never had a forever home growing up - we moved a lot - and to be able to build that and create that for my family is special,” she said.
